Hobby Central Privacy Policy

Effective Date: October 1, 2006

The web site you have entered is operated by or on behalf of Hobby Central, Inc. ("Hobby Central"). Hobby Central is committed to protecting your personal privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines the types of information that are collected by Hobby Central on its web sites, and how we use and protect it. This Policy also explains the choices that you can make about the way your information is collected and used. This Policy applies only to Hobby Central web sites, and it does not apply to banners, sweepstakes and other advertisements or promotions that we may sponsor or participate in on web sites owned by third parties.

By using Hobby Central web sites, you signify that you agree with the terms of our current Privacy Policy as posted on our sites as well as the terms of our Terms of Use. If you do not agree with any term in this Policy or our Terms of Use, please do not use this site or provide any Personal Information to us.

The Information We Collect

As used in this Privacy Policy, "Personal Information" means any information that is linked to your identity such as your name, street address, telephone number, screen name, age and/or email address. The site you entered may collect some or all of these types of Personal Information through a sweepstakes, contest, game, survey, questionnaire or promotion, or a registration form. Some of our web sites may require registration in order for you to participate in sweepstakes, games or other activities.

You can use Hobby Central web sites without telling us who you are or revealing any personal information about yourself. Once you give us your personal information, you are authorizing us to use that information in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you choose to provide us with personal information, you consent to the transfer and storage of that information to our servers located in the United States.

  • We may collect and store the following personal information:
  • email address and physical contact information
  • community discussions, chats, dispute resolution, correspondence through the Site, and correspondence sent to us;
  • computer sign-on data, statistics on page views, traffic to and from the Site, and ad data;
  • other information, including IP address and standard web log information

The Hobby Central websites may also collect Personal Information from you about a third party (e.g., the site might allow you to send an email or message to a friend, in which case we will need that person's name and email address). Please note that we use such information only for the specified purpose (e.g., to deliver the email message) and we will not contact the third party again by email unless and until the third party contacts us.

The Way We Use Personal Information

When you supply Personal Information at a Hobby Central web site, we will use it in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy. We may also use it to contact you regarding Hobby Central's services or promotions as well as other products and services, which may be requested by or otherwise of interest to you (including those we may offer jointly with other companies). At any time, however, you may opt out of such future contact by unsubscribing from our database. We also use Personal Information to keep track of a user's activities on our sites, to improve our marketing and promotional efforts, to statistically analyze web site usage, to improve our web site features, design and content and to refine our marketing strategies.

We may also enhance your Personal Information by linking it to data obtained from third parties, such as non-personally identifiable information (e.g., demographic and geographic characteristics) as well as other publicly available data such as census information. Such enhanced information allows us to provide our users with a more customized experience.

Hobby Central's primary goal in collecting and using Personal Information is to give you a meaningful and customized experience while you are using our web sites as well as to promote our services in a cost effective and efficient manner.

  • You agree that we may use your personal information to:
  • provide the services and customer support you request;
  • prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities, and enforce our User Agreement;
  • customize, measure, and improve our services and the Sites' content and layout;
  • tell you about targeted marketing, service updates, and promotional offers based on your communication preferences; and compare information for accuracy.

Use of Cookies

We may use "cookies" (small files placed on your hard drive) on certain pages of the website to help analyze our web page flow, customize our services, measure promotional effectiveness, and promote trust and safety. Anonymous information about your computer, such as your IP address, the type of Internet browser you are using, and the type of computer operating system you are using may also be collected by us using cookies.

In addition, please note the following important information about our use of cookies:
  • We may offer certain features that are only available through the use of cookies.
  • We may use cookies to help identify you and maintain your signed-in status.
  • Some cookies may be "session cookies," meaning that they are automatically deleted from your hard drive at the end of a session.
  • You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, although doing so may interfere with your use of Hobby Central websites. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If you'd prefer, you can set yours to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. Refusal of cookies at the site you entered may result in an inability to visit certain areas of the web sites or to receive personalized information when you visit the web sites.

With Whom We May Share Information

In the course of doing business, we may employ other companies to perform a variety of functions on our behalf. For example, at times we may retain third parties to analyze, update and correct data we collect on our web sites, including Personal Information, to help us improve our services, our database and our web sites. In addition, we may share Personal Information with agents, suppliers, fulfillment houses and other third parties to allow delivery of prizes, information, products or services. These suppliers and other third parties may have access to your Personal Information if it is needed to perform their functions for Hobby Central, but they are not authorized by us to use your Personal Information in any way other than the intended use.

We also may share aggregate, non-personally identifiable information about our users with advertisers, business partners, sponsors, and other third parties. For example, we may tell a business partner the number of men and the number of women that entered a contest, but we do not disclose Personal Information about such contestants in violation of this Privacy Policy.

Except as stated in this Privacy Policy, we do not sell, transfer or disclose your Personal Information without your prior consent. We may release your Personal Information if required to do so by law, or by search warrant, subpoena or court order, or to a third party to which ownership of Hobby Central is transferred via an acquisition, merger, sale of assets or otherwise.

Activity Associated with User Name

Your User Name could be displayed throughout Hobby Central (e.g., on message boards, in chat rooms or with content that you have submitted) and is therefore available to the public. All of your activities on the Site will be traceable to your User Name. Therefore, if you associate your name with your User Name, the people to whom you have revealed your name to will be able to personally identify your Hobby Central activities.

Third Parties

Except as otherwise expressly included in this Privacy Policy, this document addresses only the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. If you disclose your information to others on our Site or other sites throughout the Internet, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the information you disclose to them. Since Hobby Central does not control the privacy policies of third parties, you are subject to the privacy policies of those third parties. We encourage you to ask questions before you disclose your personal information to others.

Manage Your Personal Information; Unsubscribe

You can see, review and change most of your personal information by logging into the Hobby Central web site. Generally, we will not manually modify your personal information because it is very difficult to verify your identity remotely. You must promptly update your personal information if it changes or is inaccurate. Once you make a public posting, you may not be able to change or remove it. Upon your request, we will close your account and remove your personal information from view as soon as reasonably possible, based on your account activity and in accordance with applicable law. We do retain personal information from closed accounts in order to comply with law, prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our Hobby Central Agreement, and take other actions otherwise permitted by law.

Data Protection and Security

We take commercially reasonable precautions to keep your Personal Information secure. All access to the information we collect is subject to physical, electronic and managerial restrictions to prevent unauthorized access, modification or misuse. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you disclose online, and you do so at your own risk.

Account Protection

Your password is the key to your account. Use unique numbers, letters, and special characters and do not disclose your Hobby Central password to anyone. If you do share your password or your personal information with others, remember that you are responsible for all actions taken in the name of your account. Therefore, if your password has been compromised for any reason, you should immediately notify Hobby Central and change your password.

Collection of Personal Information from Children Under 13 Years Old

Hobby Central and the www.HobbyCentral.com web site have no intention of collecting any personal information from any individuals under the age of 13 and we will not knowingly permit ordering or any communication from a child who is under the age of 13.

Important Note to Kids and Parents

Kids:

If you are 18 years of age or younger, please be sure to ask your parents for permission before providing any information to us.

Parents:

In communicating directly with minors over the Internet, we recognize the unique issues raised regarding the protection of your kids' privacy. The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), a section of The Better Business Bureau, has issues guidelines for web sites gathering information from minors. Hobby Central intends to comply with the CARU guidelines in order to protect your kids and their privacy.

Users should be aware that when you are on this web site you could be directed to other sites that are beyond our control. There may be links to other web sites that include links from advertisers, sponsors, and partners. These other web sites may send their own cookies to users, or otherwise collect data or solicit Personal Information. Always be aware of where you are surfing on the Web. Check the linked site to locate and review its privacy policy, which may be different from this Privacy Policy. Hobby Central does not endorse and makes no guarantee or representation as to the sufficiency, accuracy or completeness of the content or privacy policy of any third-party web site to which you may be linked from this site.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

Hobby Central reserves the right to change or remove this Privacy Policy at our discretion. We will post any changes to this Policy or any new policy here and we encourage you to visit this area frequently to stay informed. If there is any material change in the type of information we collect or way in which we use such information, then we will obtain your permission before we make any such change.

Important Note Regarding U.S. Law

The laws and regulations in different countries impose different (and even conflicting) requirements on the Internet and data protection. All matters relating to this site are governed by the laws of the State of Indiana in the USA. If you are located in the European Economic Area and you contact us, please note that any information you provide will be transferred to the USA and by submitting the information you authorize this transfer.

How to Contact Us

Should you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or the collection of information, please send us an email.